Getting medicin in different countries

Not much teach you as much about the medical system in a country than actually testing it out. Well, studying the healthcare delivery system at advanced level does, but for you not global health students, testing them out is quite the experience.

Sweden
In Sweden healthcare and medication are both controlled and restricted. You call the health center you’re registered at, make an appointment with a doctor, go there to take some tests and asks lots of questions. Then you, maybe, get prescribed medication that you can pick up at a pharmacy. If you don’t get better you’re asked to make a new appointment. At the pharmacy you pick up the exact medicine your doctor prescribed.

Iceland
Iceland is quite similar to Sweden actually. When I needed more birth control pills I just made an appointment, got a time to the doctor (not the midwife as in Sweden) and after a quick look at my blood pressure I got the pills prescribed and could pick them up at the pharmacy.

Australia
When I needed new birth control pills in Australia I just went to a health center, asked to see a doctor, waited for maybe half an hour and then was showed into a doctors room. There I just showed the package of my usual sort and he prescribed them for me. I went to the pharmacy and picked them up.

Thailand
Here in Thailand you just go to the pharmacy and pick out what medicine you want. I saw that they had my old kind of birth control pills just behind the counter. Here you don’t need a doctor to prescribe medicine, not even at the fancy pharmacy on campus. And you pay so little for the medicine as well. It’s crazy.

So there’s a few different ways to handle healthcare. I’ll let you think about the difference in multi resistant bacteria and drug problems in the countries mentioned.

I see the light!

The sun is finally here. Not very warm outside, but it’s still sunny 🙂 I love the summer. Absolutely love it. When I traveled in Australia, I spent almost three months in Rockhampton, during their warmest period of the year. It was between 30-40° C every day. I loved it. Sure, it felt a bit too warm sometimes when I worked outside in the sun for eight hours, but it was still wonder full weather.

One day, when I have a bit more time, I’ll tell you all about my adventure living on a farm for three months.

It snowed outside today, so I close my eyes and dream about Australia instead

Life’s too short

I work as a physiotherapist on a surgical ward, and in my job I meet a lot of very sick people. People with cancer, people with late stages of cancer that there are no hope saving. Sometimes it’s really hard to meet people that are dying. Especially when they’re younger, or you meet them several times over time, or they have young children, or are nice, or… basically, it’s always hard meeting sick people.

It makes you value life though. Life is too short. You shouldn’t spend it being bored or sad or angry. I want to do something that makes me happy. I want to do something that’s meaningful.

Missing Australia…

First time backpacking

In September of 2009 my contract at Akureyri Hospital, Iceland, was over. Even if I really enjoyed living in Akureyri, I had already figured out I wanted to travel. During the spring I started to look into going to Australia. It had always been a dream, and since I didn’t have anything waiting in Sweden I decided that it was time to try my wings on the other side of the world.

I arrived in Sweden on 2nd of September, and I left on the 21st. It gave me time to see my family and friends before once again leaving the country and planning to be away for a year. Before going I didn’t really have anything planned. I traveled with an organization which had booked four nights at a hostel for me. And they would hold an information meeting and help with getting an Australian sim-card and bank account. That was all I knew about what would happen down under.

It wasn’t until I got there and went to a 4 day surf-camp and then went back to Sydney that I started to worry over the money situation. I had absolutely no plan what so ever on how to start making money. Not the best place to be considering my bank account wasn’t exactly full to the brim. One of the girls I shared a hostel room with had an idea though. She was about to leave Australia after a year there and she told me she had made money by working on farms and being Au Pair. She even knew one place that looked for a combination of Au Pair and farm worker. I got the number and soon I was on my way to Rockhampton.

Living and traveling in Australia I learned a lot of things. One of the most important was that I wanted to live out of a backpack. I met so many amazing people on the road, and they all had so many cool stories to tell. It made me realize I wanted to live like that.

However, I was afraid I was starting to forget everything I knew as a physiotherapist. So I decided that I would work for a couple of years in Sweden when I was done with Australia. So in August of 2010 I was on the flight back to Sweden.

One of the never ending questions

V.S

 

Wish I was there

I’m home sick, stuck in bed with acute sinusitis. It’s cold and snowy outside, and pretty soon it’s going to be dark… I really wished I were somewhere else right about now.

Like Australia.